Fire department’s new truck has historic appeal

SANFORD — The Sanford Fire Department has a new ladder truck — but it’s not called Ladder 2 after the reserve one it is replacing. It’s called Ladder 37.

Seems random, at first glance. After all, the department has just two such trucks. Where does the 37 come from?

For the answer, turn to the truck’s previous owner — and then turn to a tragic day in American history.

The Sanford Fire Department purchased the aerial truck from the Tarrytown Fire Department in New York. Tarrytown firefighters called it “Ladder 37,” after the truck went to New York City to cover for FDNY’s Ladder 37 after the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.

“We’re going to keep the ‘Ladder 37’ and call it that,” Fire Chief Jeffrey Rowe said earlier this week. “There’s some history behind it, and now we have that history here.”

Sanford bought the truck at a deal — $25,000, to be exact. The fire department used funds that Town Meeting members approved for that purpose as part of the city’s overall capital improvement funds. The department sought that amount after it had the chance to purchase a truck at that price from a Massachusetts fire department but did not have the funds on hand at the time.

The vehicle is a 1988 E-One truck with a 110-foot ladder. It’s approximately 40 feet long and a few inches taller than eleven feet. Michael Hinds, a Sanford resident and a connossieur of fire department equipment, saw an ad for the truck — described as in “very good to excellent” condition — and brought it to Rowe’s attention.

Rowe, in turn, let City Manager Steven Buck know about the opportunity. The fire department had been hoping for a new truck ever since its former Ladder 2 was deemed too expensive to repair. Rowe also spoke to Michael Blau, Tarrytown’s village manager.

With Buck’s approval, Rowe sent Assistant Fire Chief Steven Benotti, a firefighter and a mechanic to Tarrytown for a look. The trio traveled to and from the village — located about 280 miles from Sanford, on the east side of the Tappan Zee Bridge — in one day and reported back to Rowe with a favorable recommendation.

The truck arrived earlier this month. Right now, the department is giving the truck a “Sanford” look and erasing traces of Tarrytown. That “37” painted onto the truck will remain, however, as will the Looney Tunes’ Tasmanian Devil that is seen on one side.

The Sanford Fire Department has four pump engines and two ladder trucks. Of those, one is a reserve pumper and Ladder 37 is the reserve ladder. The department will use Ladder 37 whenever Ladder 1 is being repaired or serviced.

“We will probably use it between ten and fifteen times each year,” Rowe said.

A brand new truck might have cost as much as $800,000, Rowe estimated.

Rowe emphasized the need for an aerial truck for the city. Fire departments in neighboring communities are quick to offer theirs for mutual aid during a fire, but their average response time of 22 minutes may be too long to wait for someone stranded on the roof of a burning apartment building. Ladder 37 is equipped to reach the heights of Sunset Tower on Main Street — Sanford’s tallest building — and Rowe said such a resource will be equally effective in an area such as High Street, which has as many as 52 structures that are three or four stories tall.

Thanks to the reserve vehicles, the Sanford Fire Department always has three front pieces on hand, Rowe said. Rowe stated his appreciation to the taxpayers who made the purchase of Ladder 37 possible. He said such resources allow him and his colleagues to feel confident that they have what they need to keep Sanford’s residents safe.

“They’re supplying us with the tools to do that,” he said about the taxpayers.